Featured Commentary category, Page 102
Greg Fulton: The day St. Franco was anointed
Similar to today, in 1972 our nation was polarized. The Vietnam War, the Equal Rights Amendment providing equality for all sexes and busing of children for integration were dividing lines for many. Then, on Dec. 23, something magical happened in Pittsburgh, what some would call an early Christmas present. According...
Sen. Devlin Robinson: Abandonment of Afghanistan shameful
Watching as Afghans clung to the sides of American transports during takeoff only to plummet to their deaths as their allies flew off Monday is a spectacle beyond bearing. I once fought on the very ground their falling bodies struck. I fought in Afghanistan, and many of my comrades did...
Jay Sefton: Pa. lawmakers must stop denying justice to abuse victims
Had I been sexually abused by Father Thomas Smith 20 miles east in New Jersey, 20 miles south in Delaware or 80 miles north in New York, I would have had the opportunity to seek justice. I could have held Catholic Church officials accountable for protecting a known pedophile instead...
Gov. Bill Lee: Collaborating to improve lives in Tennessee
Supporting Tennessee’s rural citizens has been a top priority of mine since I signed my very first executive order. Executive Order 1 required each state department to examine its impact on our rural communities and make recommendations on how to better serve rural Tennesseans. As a result, we have implemented...
Antony Davies: Pa.’s alcohol monopoly — we told you so
Defenders of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) fought for decades against alcohol privatization efforts. Principal among these was Wendell Young IV, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Pennsylvania Wine and Spirits Council — the union that represents state store workers. Despite numerous studies and polls to the...
Jonah Goldberg: With eviction moratorium, Biden joins presidents who violated oath
President Biden has already violated his oath of office. The good news for him: He’s in fine company. In 2002, George W. Bush signed the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill into law. At the ceremony, he expressed his “concerns” that the law he signed “restrains the speech of a wide variety...
Trey Grayson: Exporting the fraudit to Pa. would be disaster
In July, Pennsylvania State Sen. Doug Mastriano announced his intention to bring the Arizona audit to Pennsylvania. County officials have rebuffed his requests for election data, and Mastriano is threatening subpoenas to fuel the investigation. This is going to be a mess. Strange circumstances aside, a Pennsylvania audit is a...
Will Bardenwerper: Maybe Steelers can unite us
A few weeks ago, my wife, 4-year-old son and I joined my cousin’s family for Steelers Fest at Heinz Field. It was the kind of warm and sunny day that one dreams about during the frigid gray Pittsburgh winter. My son proudly wore a superhero cape over his Steelers jersey,...
Colin McNickle: A dichotomous jobs recovery
States with Right-to-Work laws continue to fare much better in their job recovery statistics following covid-19 lockdowns than states without such laws, concludes an analysis by the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. But the now-prevalent Delta variant could produce new challenges to that recovery, cautions Jake Haulk, president-emeritus of and...
Sam DeMarco: The Shell cracker plant is a boon for business
Denial takes many forms, and while we often are exhorted to “trust science,” some dismiss the science of economics when it doesn’t suit their political agenda. That’s what we’re finding out about the natural gas industry in general and the nearly completed ethane “cracker” plant that is about to trigger...
Gov. Jim Justice: ARC and West Virginia — partners in a state of improvement
This commentary is part of a series from governors of the 13 states in the Appalachian Regional Commission. ARC is an economic development agency of the federal government and state governments focusing on 420 counties across the Appalachian Region. For every home improvement project, big or small, you need the...
Lori Jakiela: Duct tape is sane option when airline passengers go nuts
While some people are shocked by the current attacks on flight attendants — the biting, the spitting, the punching, the threats — this behavior doesn’t surprise me. When I became a flight attendant back in the 1990s, I didn’t realize I’d end up in one of the most-hated professions in...
Quentin Langley: Time’s up for Andrew Cuomo
Twelve months ago, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was admired and seen as a future president. Some Democrats were wishing that Cuomo was the one limbering up for the fight with then-President Donald Trump. Had the Democrats made an error by not skipping a generation to choose Cuomo? Today, New...
Rep. Greg Vitali: Pa. should enact methane regulations
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and Pennsylvania’s oil and gas industry is a major methane emitter. More than 5½ years ago, Gov. Tom Wolf promised regulations to reduce methane emissions from existing oil and gas industry operations. It’s time to finalize these regulations. Methane reduction is critical in addressing...
Addison Del Mastro: Pa. is a microcosm of America’s housing crisis
In recent years, an acute housing crisis has engulfed both America’s coastal metros and Rust Belt regions. California’s Bay Area, for example, confronts a crisis of affordability and limited supply that hastens a population exodus. Midwest cities like Detroit face low real-estate prices and low demand, intensifying urban decline. Pennsylvania...
Sheldon Jacobson: TSA must mandate covid-19 vaccines for airport security screeners
Airport security checkpoints have become the nation’ measuring stick for the state of our war with covid-19 and the Delta variant. The picture is not pretty, and is likely to get worse before it gets better. Over 8,500 Transportation Security Officers have been infected to-date, with 18 deaths. At the...
Gov. Tom Wolf: Strategic investments in Appalachia help make Pa. best place to live, work, play
With 52 of our 67 counties calling Appalachia home, Pennsylvania is no stranger to the rich geography of the region filled with stunning mountain views, rivers and streams, and wildlife. It’s home to tremendous cultural and historical resources and 5.6 million Pennsylvanians who live, work and play in our commonwealth....
Adam Marles: Wolf doubles down on nursing home crisis of his creation
Everyone knows America is experiencing a hiring crisis. Many local restaurants and stores are struggling to find staff to open. Now imagine running a nursing home, where the pandemic remains a real threat, and trying to retain and find new employees. Even if you could find potential candidates, nursing homes...
John Allison: Jury duty, the (possible) antidote to civic despair
American democracy has been taking a beating lately. When people are feeling lousy about their country, experts usually recommend civic pick-me-ups to alleviate the aches and pains. Attend a veterans parade. Play bingo at a volunteer fire department. Witness a Blue Angels air show. All of those are nice, and...
State Sen. Dan Laughlin: ‘Audit’ the 2020 election results? Let’s be real Republicans.
The emerging spectacle of a state senator trying to audit Pennsylvania’s 2020 election absent credible evidence of fraud isn’t going to change the 2020 outcome and will only further the paranoid atmospherics, poisoning both parties. I’m a Republican. I believe in my party’s core values: personal liberty, free markets and...
Feyisola Akintola and Amy Eusebio: Congress needs to act to protect our immigrant neighbors
The covid-19 pandemic laid bare the truth about deep inequalities in our society. Communities of color were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, and our noncitizen neighbors were among the very hardest hit because they were unable to access covid relief benefits despite the fact that they make up a disproportionate...
Susan G. Sterrett: Amazon wants to sell Churchill a ‘pig in a poke’
Hundreds of years ago, a seller might bring a pig to market in a cloth bag (or “poque”). Smart buyers knew to look inside the drawstring “poque” before agreeing to buy. A buyer on the wrong end of a con could end up with a cat and no bacon. Hillwood...
Gov. Kay Ivey: Federal-state-local partnership helps tap into Appalachia’s potential
This commentary is part of a series from governors of the 13 states in the Appalachian Regional Commission. ARC is an economic development agency of the federal government and state governments focusing on 420 counties across the Appalachian Region. The hit country song “Mountain Music” by the band Alabama may...
Rep. Emily Kinkead: Pa. leaders must focus on recovery
More than 75% of Pennsylvania adults have received at least one covid vaccination dose and 61.5% are fully vaccinated. Our state is finally reopening. But the long road to economic recovery is just beginning. With campaigns for 2021 and even 2022 underway, new statewide and local leadership is on the...
Michael Churchill: School funding lawsuit could help students across Pa. get what they need
In the article “Massive boost in state education funding is not much help to Franklin Regional” (July 14, TribLIVE), Franklin Regional School District Finance Director Jon Perry suggested that a ruling in the school funding lawsuit headed for trial this fall could cause his district to lose revenue. I am...
